Explosions
by GhostlyMayhem
Summary: 'You never know you had a good thing until it's gone.' King Dedede never knew how true that saying was for him... until now. Implied Dedede/Escargoon. Dedede-centric. AU, one-shot.


**...**

**Explosions**

_'Explosions... _  
_On the day you wake up needing somebody_  
_And you've learned it's okay to be afraid..._  
_But it'll never be the same...'_

**—"Explosions", Ellie Goulding**

**...**

When he opened his eyes, he immediately noticed that something was... _off._ A change of atmosphere, in a sense. And in the usual groggy haze that was his mind in the mornings, he couldn't quiet put the pieces together—couldn't quite put his finger on the exact source of the problem. But he knew something was different. His foggy mind simply refused to cooperate.

King Dedede groaned, slowly sitting up in bed. He propped himself up on his elbows, glancing around his bedroom. The room itself was still darkened due to the curtains that covered each window, but he knew it was morning, and he didn't need a clock to tell him that. Not in that moment, anyway. His body was weak from fatigue, but his mind was aware of a change.

Dedede stumbled out of his bed and onto his feet, almost blindly gliding across the room to the large bedroom window. He rubbed at his tired eyes with one hand, stifling a yawn as his other hand grabbed at the soft fabric of the window curtain. The carefully sewn material nearly jolted his memory, and he grazed his thumb across the golden embroidery that he can't quite see in the darkness. But he sure as hell could feel it, memorizing each swirl and line of the patterns. He felt something else, too, but his clouded mind only vaguely sensed his inner feelings of... What was it exactly? He wondered, with growing aggravation, what he could possibly be feeling. His grogginess shattered as he threw open the curtains, letting the sunlight rays leak instantaneously into his bedroom, quickly chasing off the dark that had been there previously. Suddenly the penguin had clarity of what exactly he was feeling, and the impact of realization was jarring.

Regret. He felt a strange sense of regret, and he remembered exactly why.

It had been wrong... at least, that's what Dedede thought. It had been and still was so incredibly wrong, wrong, _wrong_ to feel the way he did about one certain snail in his life. His faithful assistant, who'd been with him through many ups and downs.

_Escargoon..._

That one name sent a painful jolt to his body, crushing his chest with an unseen weight of guilt and regret. And it wasn't because the snail had actually left him weeks ago—it was because of what he had done, what he had said, that caused Escargoon to leave in the first place.

_"B-but, sire—"_

_"—What makes ya think I would EVER love you?! I could never love you!"_

_"...You... you don't mean that..."_

_"You wanna bet?"_

Every word Dedede said to Escargoon haunted him. What's worse is that he hadn't even meant what he said—it only took Escargoon's abrupt departure to make Dedede realize that every word he said hadn't been true. That every word, every_ lie_, he said that day had been dripping with denial—that he felt the complete opposite of what his words meant. In fact, he felt the same way for Escargoon. He still did—he just couldn't admit it to himself. He never could. His mind always told him one thing, while his heart, his soul, told him something completely different.

But since when did King Dedede ever actually follow his heart, rather than his arrogant mind? Then again, that had been the problem when the words _"I love you"_ quietly came out from Escargoon's mouth. Could Dedede's heart openly allow someone else in—someone he gradually grew to love? The only person who'd always been there for him, even more than Dedede's own parents ever had?

Yes... _Now_ he could... but it was too late. Far too late. King Dedede was alone now, surely for good, because he had let the only person he truly cared for go.

_'You never know you had a good thing until it's gone.'_ Dedede sighed, watching with a heavy heart as the sun slowly ascended into the sky. He never knew how true that saying was for him... until now.

_I shouldn't have him go._

* * *

**A/N: God damn, this pairing really grew on me fast. XD I blame both how cute this pairing is, and my best friend for getting me into the show and pairing to begin with. Lol, for whatever reason, whenever I first write for a pairing I love, it's always an angsty one-shot, for whatever reason. XD**

**So yeah... My first time writing for this fandom, so it may not be good. I'll work on that, though. It takes time for me to get used to writing for a different fandom, and a completely different set of characters. My two favorite characters of the show are Escargoon and Dedede, so they'll definitely be the main subjects of whatever future fics I write for this fandom. Especially considering they don't have as many fanfics as the other characters do. DX well, my best friend and I will change that ;)**

**Anyway, yup. I love this pairing, and if you don't, please don't put that in your review. If you LIKED this one-shot, leave a review, but if you didn't nor don't like this pairing... Then don't review. Simple as that. And yes, I personally think they do have something for each other. Have you guys not seen the Japanese dub of "Shell Shocked"? Or read the English subtitles, I mean? That makes the pairing canon to me. XD**

**Man... I've found three Ellie Goulding songs that fit Dedede/Escargoon PERFECTLY. "Explosions", "Home", and "I Know You Care". Perfectly fits them, and I mean it when I say "PERFECTLY". XD**

**Btw, if you didn't quite get what was going on as to WHY Escargoon left (this is AU btw), it's because he finally admitted his feelings for Dedede, and in order to keep himself from realizing he had the same feelings, turned him down, but rather harshly. If I were in Escargoon's place, I'd feel embarrassed and compelled to leave, too. Poor guy... :(**

**Anyway, yeah. If you liked this one-shot, please review! :)**


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